[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 397-398]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       WESTERN KANSAS SNOWSTORMS

  Mr. ROBERTS. Mr. President, I rise today to call your attention to 
what can only be described as a major disaster in my home State of 
Kansas and surrounding States--certainly the State represented by the 
distinguished Presiding Officer--along with New Mexico and eastern 
Colorado, more especially in western Kansas.
  In the last days of December, a large winter storm spread over 30 
inches of heavy snow and up to 3 inches of ice in much of my State of 
Kansas.
  As you can see from this picture of what used to be a row of electric 
towers--a very idyllic scene in Kansas, where we produce the food and 
fiber this Nation needs--and then from the following picture--I will 
take this picture down and basically show you what happened after the 
blizzard--of what remains, this storm has caused overwhelming 
destruction all throughout the region. There are 21 towers in this 
condition, as shown in the picture. These are major towers of power, of 
electrical grid that have been destroyed all across my State of Kansas, 
more especially in the western part.
  As a result, 15-foot snowdrifts closed highways and left over 60,000 
customers without power. Over 10,000 downed utility poles litter the 
area. We did not get that picture blown up in time, but it is a 
marvelous picture of a road--you can see the snow here--that goes by 
with a whole bunch of telephone poles snapped off like matchsticks. And 
that has happened all throughout that area. Residents who are lucky 
enough to have generators are now paying up to $50 a day for diesel 
fuel to simply generate electricity to stay warm, to exist.
  What is more, the storm hit one of the largest concentrations of 
livestock in the State. Let me put up a chart that is going to be a 
little difficult to discern from the standpoint of what it portrays. 
For reasons you can understand when you look at this image, we have 
received numerous reports of animals like this calf--yes, this is a 
calf. You can see the calf's nose, and one eye here and one eye here. 
We do not know whether the calf made it, in that our producers are 
working overtime, our ranchers are working overtime to get food to 
their livestock herds. But in this particular instance, you can see 
what happens to an animal that is caught in these kinds of conditions--
a rather sad scene, to say the least. Either they succumb to a lack of 
food or a lack of water or they suffer extreme weight loss.
  (Ms. Stabenow assumed the Chair.)
  Mr. ROBERTS. Madam President, what happens, as you well know, coming 
from the State you represent, is that you will have a thaw, but the 
thaw will only involve a couple of inches, and it turns to ice, and 
then below that mud. So if you have any livestock there, they are 
stuck. You could even put a bale of hay right next to them and they 
could not eat it.
  So many economic livelihoods are in danger if Kansas farmers are 
unable to reach their herds of cattle or keep them fed. I take great 
pride in reporting that all across our State our producers are doing 
the very best they can under very difficult circumstances.
  In light of the overwhelming destruction this storm has thrust on our 
State, 44 counties were immediately declared states of disaster. This 
comes as no surprise to those of us who have seen the damage this storm 
has caused or those of us who have gone through previous storms. I 
remember the one in 1973, which caused great damage, and we had to use 
Air Force planes with bales of hay to keep the livestock herds, at 
least to the extent they could be, from dying. However, what comes as a 
surprise to myself and many others is that FEMA has been unable to 
fully respond to our vital requests for assistance.
  Last night, the President issued a major disaster declaration for 
Kansas, allowing the State access to two--two--of the seven--that is 
important: Two of the seven--major types of public assistance. However, 
he agreed with me, when I showed the President these images of our 
State a moment ago at the White House that the damage in the western 
part of our State goes far beyond something called ``debris removal'' 
and ``emergency protective services.''
  Furthermore, we have been told that debris removal does not cover the 
removal of snow. Now, wait a minute. If you are in western Kansas or 
you are out on the high plains and you have 30 inches of snow and 15-
foot snowdrifts but you cannot remove the snow because it cannot be 
categorized as debris, how on Earth can you reach the debris that is 
underneath the snow? That seems to be a quandary or a question that is 
rather ridiculous under the circumstances.
  While I understand that Federal officials must confirm a record or 
near-record amount of snow in order to expend Federal funds--I 
understand that--30 inches of snow certainly covers any other debris 
one could hope to clear, including the 15-foot drifts.
  The bottom line is that the State of Kansas needs its Federal 
Government to assist in restoring power and clearing massive amounts of 
snow. And they need this assistance immediately--not next week, next 
month, or next year.
  I have been told that meetings this week will determine whether 
Kansas qualifies for the remaining categories of public assistance. You 
remember that picture of the transformer, which I will put back up--and 
I will cover the picture of this poor calf--these are the kinds of 
things where we have to have public assistance; otherwise, you have 
local, small generators and people paying $50 a day for diesel fuel 
just to keep warm. That is the kind of category of public assistance--I 
am not going to list all of them--we desperately need.
  I can only ask on behalf of Kansans, who will have been stuck in the 
snow for 2 weeks by the time these meetings occur, that these decisions 
be made sooner rather than later. I have been informed just this 
morning by our FEMA Director, Mr. David Paulison--who wants to be of 
all possible help--that much work remains to be done between the State 
and also our regional FEMA officials.
  I understand that. There are a lot of regulations. There are a lot of 
things Congress itself has put into the regulations in regard to FEMA 
help or State officials, that they must work through this. But the 850 
people in Sharon Springs, Kansas, cannot afford to clear the 15-foot 
snowdrifts that are currently covering six blocks of Main Street. Their 
county of 1,500 people could not have known to budget for the 600 
truckloads of snow they estimate it will take to clear just their Main 
Street, just that area. They estimate it would take that to do the job. 
They need their Federal Government's help, and they need their State 
and also regional FEMA help to expedite this process, which I 
understand is going to take place on Wednesday. Why it cannot take 
place before that I am not sure. And why the Weather Service cannot at 
least discern this was a major snow--a major snow of 30 inches and 15-
foot drifts--is a little bit beyond me. We will keep working on that.
  As each day passes that FEMA is not able to issue the remaining 
categories of assistance--I am not blaming FEMA. I know there is a 
process. I am not blaming the State. I know there is a process. But the 
people of Saint Francis and the people of many other communities--
county seat communities, noncounty seat communities, very small 
communities--need the assistance now.

[[Page 398]]

  I hope FEMA and our Government do not give the impression that it is 
entirely focused solely on large urban and suburban communities, or 
natural disasters that make the headlines, make the headlines, and make 
the headlines. Obviously, I am talking about hurricanes, I am talking 
about mudslides, I am talking about forest fires, I am talking about 
major disasters where FEMA does the best job they possibly can. We have 
come through a lot in the past sessions of Congress.
  So I am asking our State officials and our FEMA folks here in 
Washington and also on a regional level to prove this is not the case 
by quickly providing all available Federal resources to support this 
effort in our heartland. And again, let's do it this week. Let's not 
wait until next week and the week after and a month after.
  I thank the distinguished Presiding Officer and yield the floor.
  Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the order for the 
quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Nelson of Florida). Without objection, it 
is so ordered.

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